A Piece of You
by blackheartsmile
Summary: "...you're going to forget all about Damon Salvatore." They wanted her to forget him and forget him she did and she have to live the next few years feeling like a piece of her soul was missing. Now, after 2 years, Damon is coming back to Mystic Falls to get her to fall in love with him again and help her find missing piece... [Really not good with summaries...]
1. Prologue

**A/N:** Okay, here it goes. This my first Vampire Diaries story, but NOT my first fanfic I have written. I've written fanfics for other fandom before and I'm excited to be finally writing one about one of my favorite show on TV. Feedback would be nice. Also, I really suck at summarizing what this whole story is about to get you to read, but read anyways. =P

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything Vampire Diaries related. Period.

**Prologue  
**

_**"The damage is done  
The police are coming too slow now  
I would have died  
I would have loved you all my life"**_

**-Ryan Star  
**

The rain fell heavily from outside and she could hear the pitter platter sound it made against the window. Tears streamed down her face as she stared at the people in front of her; the people who were stopping her from getting to the man who she would love until the end of her time. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't be happening to her. She had finally found someone who she wanted to love for the rest of life and they were going to take him away from her. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair.

"Where's Damon?" she demanded to know. She knew they had tricked him to come here and now he was nowhere in sight. "Where is he, Bonnie?"

Bonnie shook her head and defiantly held her chin up, "you no longer have to worry about him anymore, Elena. He's being taken care of."

"...what?" Elena shook her head and refused to believe what her Bonnie just said. She was one of her best friend and Elena couldn't understand how she could betray her like this. How could she help them take him away from her? "No...please, Bonnie! Just let me see him. I need to see that he's okay."

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow that. This is the only way we know of to protect you."

"I don't need your protection!" she shouted in frustration. "I don't need John's, Matt's or the Originals'. I just need him, Bonnie. Just give me him, please!"

Bonnie shook her head again. She knew with every fiber of her being that Elena Gilbert and Damon Salvatore didn't belong with one another. Their love was an abomination. Elena was human and she deserved to spend the rest of her life living as a human being with another human being; not someone like Damon. Never. Damon Salvatore was a monster and definitely didn't deserved to roam around in this world. As far as she was concern, he should've died years ago and she couldn't understand what Elena saw in him. He had killed multiple of people since his arrival to town and Bonnie was down with him. She would make sure he stay away from her forever.

"Eventually you'll come to realize that your love for Damon was an illusion," Bonnie calmly stated. "Someday you'll realize that you have been compelled to love him all along. It isn't real, Elena. It never was."

"That's where you're wrong," she defended her relationship. "It was real. He never had to compel me to love him. He didn't need to. I fell in love with him because I saw the real him. He allowed me to see what is underneath the surface of his facade. He's not a monster, Bonnie."

"Stop it, Elena," John stepped in as he heard enough. He didn't want to stand there and listen to Elena go on about her love with the monster who was dying in the next room. She was his daughter and he refused to let her love someone who is not meant to be loved. He had allowed the farce go on long enough and he was going to finally put a stop to it all. "You are seriously deluded if you really think that he loves you, Elena. Damon doesn't love anyone. He can't. He's a monstrosity to this world and love is something that he can't feel. It's all an illusion he had created for you to love him. It's time to let it go. You are my daughter and no daughter of mines is going to be with him. I won't allow it."

"You're not my father!" she shouted as she unsuccessfully tried to stop her tears. She needed to appear to be strong. She had to be strong for him. "My father is dead. My father would've never done this to me. He would've wanted me happy and Damon makes me happy. You would not understand happiness or love if cupid was to shoot you with it because you're nothing but a cold and miserable soul!"

She could feel her whole body shaking in anger, frustration, betrayal and fear. She knew she couldn't win against them, but she wasn't going to go down without a fight. No, Damon had taught her better than that. He always fought for her. Now it was her turn to fight for him and she had been strong so far, but she could feel herself slowly crumbling. She was never as strong as him. A sob escaped her throat as she fell down onto her knees and clutched her broken heart, "Damon..."

"I'm sorry, Elena..." Bonnie unemotionally and unremorsefully apologized as she kneeled down to her level.

"No! Don't be sorry. Just stop it! You can't take him away from me. I need him. Please, Bonnie. I love him. Why can't you see that? He's all I want. Just let me keep him..." Elena choked as she grabbed onto Bonnie's shoulders. "He loves me, Bonnie, just like I love him. I know you can see that. I am begging you, don't do this."

"This has to be done, Elena. It's the only way to save you from him."

"I don't need to be saved from him!"

"He killed Jenna, Elena!" Matt raised his voice as he had heard enough. He had loved her and she had chosen the monster over him. If this was what it takes to take Damon away from Mystic Falls and away from Elena once and for all, he would be part of it. Damon didn't deserve someone like Elena to love him. Never. "He was the reason you were attacked and kidnapped. You almost died, Elena! Not only did he killed Jenna. He turned and killed Vicki. He is a fucking murderer. Jenna, Bonnie's grandma, Abby, Anna and Vicki; they're all dead because of him!"

"This is only for your own good, Elena," Uncle John stepped forward toward her. "You'll thank us later. I promise you."

"No..." Elena sobbed.

"It's time..." Bonnie announced as she turned to Elijah. He nodded his head and stepped forward toward her. Elena shook her head and stepped back in fear. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't be. She stared at Elijah with her big brown heartbroken eyes and he couldn't help but feel her pain with her. He didn't want to do this, but he didn't have a choice.

"No..." she shook her head. "Please, Elijah..."

God, he wished he had turned off his humanity so he wouldn't feel like this. She would hate him forever and he knew it. This was never how he pictured things would end up like. He was god damn Original and there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop what was about to happen. He didn't understand how everything came down to this. No, that was a lie. He did. Love...that was what happened. His love for Katherine was what brought him here to destroy Elena's love for Damon. Love...such a selfish feeling.

"I am sorry, Elena..." Elijah apologetically said as he took a hold of her chin.

"Damon..." she whispered her lover's name.

He slowly closed his eyes to gather his courage to do what he was about to. As soon as he reopened them, his eyes dilated as he stared into Elena's. "You're going to forget all about Damon Salvatore and the existence of vampires. You've been in an accident and had lost your memories of what had happened in the last 8 months. You will wake up tomorrow and forget everything that has happened since you met Damon Salvatore..."

Elena's eyes blinked once before she fell into a world of darkness.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Here's the first chapter. I'll get more details of the background history as I go along the story. If anyone's cofused, just ask and I'll try to answer without revealing so much. Oh, and thank you for the reviews, favorite-ings, and followings. Much appreciated. Help keep my muse going. =D. Oh, it it's unbeta so all mistakes are my own. I have re-read it a trillion of times and changed it up thousands of times and I think it should be fine now. I hope, Lol.

**Disclaimer: **Again, I don't owe anything Vampire Diaries related...

* * *

**C****hapter 1 - Set the Fire to the Third Bar**

_**"I'm miles from where you are,  
I lay down on the cold ground  
I, I pray that something picks me up  
And sets me down in your warm arms"**_

**-Snow Patrol**

_"They're going to do something. Something horrible. Something that will take you away from me. I just know it."_

_"It's going to be alright, Elena..." Damon reassured her._

_"Don't lie, Damon," Elena shook her head. "You never lied to me before. Don't start now." Letting go a heavy sigh, she turned around and wrapped her arms around his torso. "I'm not scared though. Do you want to know why?"_

_Damon looked down at her, "why?"_

_She snuggled deeper into his embrace, "because no matter what they do, they can't take you away from my heart. Even if I was to forget you, it'll just be my mind. My heart will remember you. My heart will continue to love you even if I can't physically." Tilting an inch away from him, Elena stared into those blue eyes that she had loved and while always love. "I love you, Damon."_

_"I know, Elena..." Damon gave her a small smile. _

_Taking a deep breath, Elena took Damon's hands into hers. "I want you to know that no matter what happens, I want you to know that I promise I will find a way back to you. I will fight to keep you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Whether that be for 30 to 80 years as human or eternity as a vampire. It doesn't matter to me. I just want to be with you and love you for however long I can..."_

_..._

_He could hear her. Her screams. Her pleads. Her heartbreak. He could hear feel her breaking...shattering and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He had failed her. He couldn't save her when she needed him the most. He saved her all the other times, but this time-the time that mattered the most-he couldn't. He had failed, miserably. He never saw them coming. They had blind-sided him and vervained him to the max. He was weak and was at the verge of dying. He could feel it, but it didn't hurt as much as hearing her pleads on the other side of the door. Her heartbreak hurts more than anything he had ever experienced._

_"Damon!"_

_He squinted his eyes to try and get a better view of who was kneeling in front of him. The blurry image wasn't familiar, but the voice sure sounded familiar._

_"...Ric?"_

_Ric nodded his head and started untying the vervained laced ropes that were bounded around him. "Where is she? Where's Elena?"_

_"Time to go, Damon," Ric purposely ignored his question. "Stefan is waiting for you just outside. You've got to before they find out I'm breaking you free."_

_Ric helped him up from his position and carefully dragged him up the stairs toward the exit way. He had to be quick and quiet to make sure they didn't catch him in the act of saving Damon Salvatore. If they did he would probably be severely punished, too, and he was definitely planning to survive this horrendous night if not to help Elena cope, but to help Damon exact his revenge. They were fools to think they could get rid of him._

_As soon as Ric reached the woods that were located behind the boarding house, he gently placed Damon onto the ground. Immediately, Stefan stepped out from behind the tree with Caroline right behind him. Caroline immediately let out a gasp as soon as she saw the condition Damon was currently in. Damon might have not been her favorite person in the world, but even he didn't deserve the pain they had put him through._

_"Is...is he's going to be okay?" Caroline quietly asked. _

_Stefan shook his head bitterly, "it'll take time. Physically, he'll eventually be back to normal. Emotionally? He'll be a mess." _

_To say he was pissed would be an understatement. He was fucking livid and wanted to do nothing more than rip out the throats of all those scum who did this to his brother. His brother made had done some terrible things when he first reappeared back to Mystic Falls and Damon might've made his life a living hell for the last few centuries, but he was his brother nevertheless. A brother he couldn't imagine living without. He needed Damon. Whether he's beside him or a thousand miles away. As long as he knew Damon was still walking on the face of the Earth, he was fine with it. He just didn't want Damon to be gone forever._

_"...Stefan?" Damon croaked out his name as he started coughing. "Stefan, where's Elena? Must save Elena."_

_As Damon tried to get up, Stefan immediately flashed to his side and pushed him down. "No, Damon. You're not strong enough. You're only going to get yourself killed and I can't let that happen. She wouldn't want that to happen, Damon."_

_"No," Damon shook his head. "She needs me, Stefan. I promised to always keep her safe. I need to save her. I need her, Stefan."_

_Stefan let out a sigh as he heard Caroline whimpers in the background, "I know. I know, Damon, but it's time to go. We've got to go now before they decide to kill both of us."_

_"No! I'm not going anywhere with you! I need to save her!"_

_"Stop it, Damon!" Stefan roared. "I'm not going to let yourself get killed! Not on my watch!"_

_"Let me go!" Damon struggled to get up, but was easily pushed back down by Stefan. "You might've given up on her, but I haven't. I am not leaving her behind!"_

_If he heart wasn't already dead, Stefan could sworn it would die just from seeing that broken look on his brother's face. _

_"Damon, please!" Caroline pleaded._

_Hearing Caroline's voice, Damon turned to glare at her with hatred. "You!" he pointed at her. "It's all your fault! She's your friend! How can you does this to her?! You're just like them!"_

_"...what?"_

_"You know that's not true, Damon," Ric defended Caroline. "If she was a part of them, she wouldn't be here trying to help you. She can't go against them and you know it. Listen to Stefan and go. Leave Mystic Falls to recover. I promise you, Damon, I'll watch after her."_

_"NO!" Damon vehemently shook his head. "You guys are just like them! I know it! You guys just want to take her away from me!"_

_He immediately started struggling against Stefan's hold and thrashed about to get free from the hold, but was too weak. He knew. He could feel his strength slipping from his fingertips. Not knowing what else to do, he growled at them in anger. Stefan suddenly let go of him and stared right into his eyes. _

_"I promise...no, I swear to you Damon, we'll get her back, okay? But not today. We need to leave so you can recover your strength and we'll return. I swear. We'll return and I'll personally help you get her back and make them pay. I promise, Damon, just please. Let's go for now."_

_Damon stared back at Stefan and knew he meant every word he just said. He knew he had lost. He had lost to the witch, the Originals and the fucking vampire hunter daddy. He had failed and he knew it so reluctantly he nodded his head and agreed to leave with Stefan._

_"Fine...let's go."_

* * *

It had been 2 years...twenty four months...seven hundred and thirty days. However one chose to see it, but it had been two years since Damon Salvatore last saw the woman he loved. No, love. Still love. Never in the past tense. His love for her still burned and he would never forget her, not even after four years. Not even if fifty years passed by. He knew that no matter what, he would love and yearn for her until the day he either burned into ashes or is staked in the heart. Both options had been tempting for him to inflict on himself, but that would've made him a coward and Elena Gilbert would've been so disappointed him.

No, he had decided to live on. Lived as much as he could as a vampire for four years now just waiting for the right time; the right time to take back what was rightfully his to begin with. The right time to go back and save her. They would all pay one day, he silently vowed to himself. He would make sure each and every one of them pay for what they have done. For hurting her. For betraying her. For taking her away from him. They would all pay and he started at the bottom of the chain.

And here he was. After two years of recuperating his strength from that day, it had led him where he was at the moment; lying on the cold floor in an empty bar. He had failed-yet again. A failure he was. He wasn't strong enough to save her that day and he still wasn't strong enough. It had taken him two years to get his strength back and he had thought he was stronger, but unfortunately, he was wrong. His stupidity is what has gotten him lying on the cold floor with a stake in his chest with no strength to pull it out. He didn't want to pull it out. A masochist he had become and he wanted to dwell on the pain he was currently in. At least it allowed him to remember the pain that he had felt that day when she was cruelly taken from him.

God, he wished he told her he loved her more. If he remembered correctly, he hardly ever said the words to her, but then again, he never needed to because she knew how much he loved her. He just wished he said it more so he could see that smile on her face. He would do anything just to see her smile again. To see her beautiful face. To feel her soft olive skin against his fingertips. To feel her lush lips against his. He wanted to hold her again, even if it was just one last time. God, he just wanted _**her**_ beside him.

"Damon!" He let out a groan as he heard Stefan's voice coming from the doorway and another one as soon as he noticed Caroline right behind him. What the hell were they doing here? As soon as he heard Caroline shrieking his name, he allowed his head to fall back against the cold floor and closed his eyes.

"Give me the blood bags, Caroline," Stefan ordered as he lifted Damon's head against his chest to keep him upright. His eyes fluttered open again and saw Caroline viciously tearing open a blood bag. She quickly shoved into his face and demanded him to drink. As soon as the smell of blood reached his nostrils, his fangs withdrew themselves and sank into the bag.

Four blood bags later, he was slowly feeling himself heal and his energy returning in full force. Fuck, he was going to rip Kol Mikaelson heart out if he ever runs into him again. Original or not.

"Are you okay, Damon?" Caroline broke the silence that had consumed the room while he was devouring the blood bags. He shifted his eyes to her and saw she was quite shaken.

"What the hell is wrong you?" he glared at her shaken form.

"Me?" Caroline pointed to herself, baffled.

"I'm the one who got staked. I should be shaken, not you. You're kind of stealing my thunder here."

"Oh, go to hell, Damon!" she snapped at him. "I'm sorry if I got a little scared seeing you lying on the ground staked. Maybe Stefan and I should've just left you like that. It's what you want, isn't it? Suicidal prick!"

"Shut up, Blondie," Damon growled at her.

"Ugh! You are unbelievable. I save your ass and this is how you thank me? Stefan, stake him for me." She turned to Stefan with her arms cross and stared at him expectantly.

Stefan looked right back and her then over to Damon and shook his head, "I am not staking my brother, Caroline."

"Fine," she huffed. "Then ask Damon how the hell did he get staked in the first place."

Damon rolled his eyes, "I'm right here. Why don't you just ask me yourself; seeing that you have a mouth of your own."

"Because am I not speaking to you at the moment."

"Speaking to me right now," he smirked at her. "Oh, you know you can't stay mad at me for long. Who is going to keep you companying when Mr. Broody here gets boring."

Stefan ignored them and allowed them to continue bickering. He wasn't going to get in-between them. He learned his lesson from the last time. If he got between them, the both of them would end up picking on him instead and tonight, he wasn't in the mood. He, too, was shaken. The moment he saw a stake protruding out of Damon's chest, he felt his heart stop-well, if his heart was still alive it would've. He had knowingly let out a sigh of relief when he pulled the stake out and saw that it had missed his heart by a couple of inches, but he knew Kol didn't miss it on accident. Fuck no. If an Original wanted you dead, you're dead. Damon didn't know how lucky he was that Kol had decided to keep him alive for whatever reason he had, but he was still pissed. He was pissed off at Damon for ditching Caroline and him and confronting Kol on his own. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

He hadn't known he asked that out loud until he heard the bickering stop and Caroline's gasp. He hardly ever cursed and if he did, that usually meant he was really, really mad and at the moment he was. He was livid at Damon for putting his life a jeopardy again. He was barely able to save him 2 years ago and had to painfully watch him slowly recover his strength.

"Excuse me?" Damon glared at him and tried to decipher what the hell was wrong with his little brother. He had no reason to angry at him.

"You heard me," Stefan glared right back him.

Damon noncommittally shrugged his shoulders, "well, I wanted to send a message and decided to send it through Kol. I just didn't expect that fucker to be carrying a stake around with him. I really hope he ends up staking himself one of these days. Oh, what I would give to see that."

"I told you I would help you, Damon," Stefan said as he stepped up to Damon. "Caroline and I are here for you. When are you going to understand that you're not as strong as you use to be. You're going to have to accept that sooner or later. Sure, you're stronger than Caroline and I, but you cannot be going up against an Original. You're fucking lucky Kol allowed you to live."

Damon rolled his eyes at Stefan and picked up his black leather jacket on the floor. "Allowed me to live?" he scoffed. "What? Do you want me to track him down and thank him for letting me live? What should I say? Oh, I know. Thank you for staking me in the chest and missing my heart by couple of mere inches. That really means a lot. Is that suffice?"

"Could we please not do this?" Caroline quickly jumped in before it got too heated between the two of them. She hated to see the two of them fight one another. It was always so ugly and hurtful. "Let's all just take a deep breath and calm down, okay?"

"I'm going back to Mystic Falls whether you like it not, Stefan."

Stefan let out a frustrated sigh, "and how do you expect to do that? Bon-" he paused as he quickly caught himself. "The witch banned you from entering the town, Damon. Don't you remember?"

"Oh, trust me. I remember it clearly."

"Stefan..." Caroline carefully tried to rein Stefan back. "Maybe this is not the time for that."

"No, Caroline!" Stefan barked. "He needs to hear this. He needs to come to terms that maybe he can't save her!"

"Stefan," Damon said his name through his gritted teeth. "I would listen to Blondie if I were you."

"No, Damon! I have enough of this! You can't get into Mystic Falls. Bonnie. Yes, I said her name. _**Bonnie**_ banned you from entering Mystic Falls and she have the Originals, Matt and John Gilbert backing her up. Elijah is an **THE** Original, Klaus is a motherfucking hybrid and John is a vampire hunter. You can't win against them! Saving Elena is not worth your life." The next thing Stefan knew, Damon had him pinned against the wall and Caroline trying to pry Damon away from him.

"Is that all you got?" Damon taunted him. "What else do you got? Come on, brother. Don't hold back now. I want to hear everything you have been holding back."

Stefan used his strength and reversed their position. "They masked her scent from you. How do you know she'll be there if you go there? She could be in a different country for all we know. It's not worth risking your life against them to save someone who doesn't remember you."

Caroline let out a gasp as soon as the words came out of Stefan's mouth.

"What did you just say?" Damon growled.

"She doesn't remember you." He clearly enunciated every word.

Damon let out a painful roar and attacked him. The last thing he heard was Caroline screaming and the blackness soon consumed him.

...

It was the end of the full moon and he could see the sun slowly creeping up over the horizon as he impatiently waited for arrival of the only other man out there that can help him. He had received an unexpected call just a few hours earlier and the only person he could turn to for help lived out in a lake house in the middle of the forest just outside of Mystic Falls. He had been waiting for the call since that day and prepared for it, but in all honesty, he wasn't sure all the preparations he had done will help lower the damage that was about to come to the town that he loved. The town he called home.

As soon as he heard the sound of rustled leaves and broken twigs on the ground, he quickly turned around and raised his crossbow toward where the sound came from. It was a precaution in case someone or something tried to attack him unknowingly.

"Put that shit away," a voice came from the distance.

Immediately he lowered the crossbow and smirked at the person standing before him, "just wanted to check how good your senses are nowadays."

"They're working fine," the man replied bitterly. "What are you doing here?"

"I need your help," he answered, honestly. "You know that thing you have been helping me plan since that day..."

The man nodded his head, "yeah, what about it?"

He paused for a few seconds for some effect, "...got a phone call this evening..."

"So? What the hell would I..." the man paused as recognition flashed through his eyes. "No fucking way. Seriously?"

He nodded his head. The man shook his head and let out a humorless laugh, "Damon fucking Salvatore is coming back..."


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - Home**

_**"**__**And I feel just like I'm living someone else's life  
It's like I just stepped outside  
When everything was going right  
And I know just why you could not  
Come along with me"**_

**-Michael Bubl****é  
**

_Tears continuously streamed down her face and she couldn't stop it. Her head hurt. Her body heart. Everything hurts. All she felt was an unexplainable pain deep in her soul. An emptiness, she had decided to call it and it consumed her. Nothing had been the same since she woke up from her accident. She was confused and hurt and all she wanted to do was to stop herself from the pain. _

_"Elena..."_

_Quickly, she turned around and found herself face to face with Jeremy, her patient and loving brother. As soon as Jeremy saw her, his heart immediately broke for her. She was hurting and he could see it. _

_"I...I'm sorry," he apologized, again._

_She shook her head, "don't. Stop apologizing, Jeremy. It isn't your fault I got into an accident and lost my memories."_

_"It's just...I wish I can heal you, you know. You're always crying and I feel so helpless. I don't know how to make you better."_

_Seeing his eyes filled with tears, Elena immediately felt guilty. She took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around him and held onto him as if he was her lifeline. "Everything is my fault, Jer. It's all in my head. Ever since I woke up and found out I have forgotten a part of my life, I just feel...lost."_

_Jeremy shook his head and moved away from her embrace, "you're not lost. I'm right here. You're right here, with me."_

_She sniffled and nodded her head. _

_"I think..." Jeremy paused and took a deep breath. "I think you should leave Mystic Falls."_

_"...what?"_

_"Alaric suggested it and I think he's right. You need to heal and you can't do it here because everything you forgot happened here. I think you need something new. Go make new memories elsewhere, Elena. Forget about Mystic Falls."_

_Elena shook her head, "I can't leave, Jer. I can't just leave you here by yourself. We just lost Jenna."_

_"Please, Elena," he begged. "Just go. You need it. I'll be fine here. I have Ric here with me. It's not forever. We'll see each other. I'll visit you as much as you need me to. Just, please, leave Mystic Falls and start a new life somewhere else..."  
_

* * *

_Welcome to Mystic Falls._ A smile escaped Elena's lips as she drove pass the sign. She was excited to be back in Mystic Falls after being away for years at college in New York, but most of all she was excited to see Jeremy again. She hadn't inform Jeremy that she was on her way back. It was meant to be a surprise. Jeremy had called her a month ago; telling her Bonnie had accepted his proposal and for her to come back to Mystic Falls to celebrate with him. The plan was to wait for Matt to finish his work and then the two of them would come back for a week or so, but Elena had other plans. She was tired of New York and longed to be back at Mystic Falls. Something was calling her back so she had packed up the things she needed and treasured the most with her and took off by herself back to her hometown. Jeremy was going to be in for a surprise.

Once she saw the old Gilbert home that Jeremy and Alaric were currently living, she slowed down and tried to calm down her nerves. She wasn't sure what kind of reaction she was going to get from them; especially Jeremy. Sure, he would be happy, but as soon as he finds out the reason why she had decided to visit earlier than expected he would be so disappointed in her. Taking a deep breath, Elena parked her car in the drive way and exited.

"Here goes nothing," she mumbled to herself. She grabbed her small luggage that she had placed on the passenger seat and decided to leave her other luggage in the car. Taking a deep breath, Elena gathered her strength and walked to the porch. As soon as she reached the porch, she heard a familiar voice coming from backyard. Smiling to herself, she took a detour and walked toward the backyard where she found Jeremy wrestling with the grill.

"Jeremy!" Elena immediately called out as soon as she saw him.

Jeremy looked up and was stunned for a moment to see Elena in front of him. He hadn't expected her to show up until the next week, so he was definitely surprised. "Elena?"

As soon as he realized the person standing in front of him was Elena, he immediately dropped what he was doing and rushed over the her awaiting form. She met him halfway and wrapped him in a bear hug. God, she had missed him and clearly she didn't know how much until she had her arms wrapped around him. He had grown up to be a man, but in her eyes, he would always be her baby brother no matter how old he gets. "Oh, I missed you."

Jeremy was the first to break away from the hug and took a good look at her, "what are you doing here? I mean, I am glad you're here and all, but I didn't expect you to show up until next month. You're early. How did you get here, anyways? I know for a fact Matt is still out on a business trip. You should've called me. I would've picked you up from the airport."

Elena laughed as she listened to Jeremy's ramble, "chill out, Jer. I just missed you so I decided to come early. Can't I come early to hang out with you before you become a married man?"

"Where's Matt? Did he come, too?"

"Uh...he'll come he's done with his business trip. Don't worry."

"Elena..." he said in a warning tone.

"I don't need permission to come and see my baby brother, do I?"

"Of course not."

"I didn't sneak out," she stated, offended, as she noticed the look he gave her.

Jeremy threw his hands up as a signal to surrender, "I'm wasn't saying you did."

"If you don't want me here I can just go back."

She quickly grabbed her suitcase again and turned back toward the front yard. Immediately, Jeremy held onto her hand to stop her, "I'm sorry, okay? I'm happy that you're here. Really."

Elena smiled to herself as she listened to him; happy that Jeremy at least backed down-for now. She knew eventually he'll start digging deeper and start to question her once he gets over his excitement of having her home. His distraction will at least buy her a week, two at most, to get the courage to confess that she had left Matt without notice and was planning to stay in Mystic Falls for a indefinite amount of time.

"Alright," Jeremy excitedly clapped his hands together. "This calls for a family reunion lunch. Bonnie is actually out of town at the moment so that leaves only us and Ric. Why don't you go put your things away in your room and get freshen up while I call him home."

"Thank you, Jeremy," she hugged him again. She couldn't help it. He had been her rock since she woke up from the coma and realized she missed seven months of her life. He had been nothing but patient and understanding with her; the perfect brother. It was too bad she couldn't return the favor.

_..._

"How did she look to you?" Alaric quietly asked Jeremy as the both of them stood in the middle of the kitchen. "Did she looked okay?"

Jeremy shook his head, "it's back, Ric; that broken look of hers. She's trying to hide it and I can see her pretending to be okay, but I don't want to push her."

"What do you mean?"

He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, "I just don't get it, Ric. She was completely fine the last time I saw her and Matt said she was getting along fine, but she comes home unexpectedly and that broken soul comes back."

"Maybe she had a relapse somewhere between the time you last saw her and her coming here. She could've relapsed and hid it away from Matt. You know how good she is at that."

Letting out a sigh, Alaric took in Jeremy's appearance. Jeremy had been fine this morning when he left to work, but now he looked completely stressed out. Elena Gilbert. He felt a pang against his heart as he talked about her. She had always been a painful subject to him because when he hears her name, it brought him back to two of his worst memories; Jenna's death and the day he failed to save her. He had been nothing but a horrible guardian to her and Jenna would've been so disappointed in him.

"It's going to be okay," he tried to reassure him. "Just give her a couple of days."

"I just want to fix her. Fix this..."

"You can't fix her, Jeremy," Alaric interrupted. "She's not a car that had broke down along the road. She's just lost for now. We'll find a way to heal her. I promise you that."

Jeremy solemnly nodded his head, "you know, sometimes when I can't sleep at night I would think back to that day. I would replay every scene over and over again in my head and try to see what I could've done differently. After I memorize each scene again, I would start to play the what if game in my head and imagine how different life would've been if I stepped in."

"Jeremy..." Alaric sighed. "You can't keep doing this to yourself."

"It's all my fault," he whispered, brokenly. "I want her to be fixed; to be better. All I want is for her to have a normal life and not feel like a piece of her is missing. I know how it feels like, Ric. You might forget the memories, but the feelings are always going to be there...no matter what."

"Are we talking about Vicki?"

"What happened to Vicki...it was horrible and I couldn't remember it, but I could still felt that feeling of losing something that I loved. The pain stays, Ric. With every power there is a side-effect."

"It's not all your fault, Jeremy," Alaric tried to comfort him. "We are all at fault here. You can't be taking all the burden on yourself. It's not healthy for you. Remember, we have to be the strong ones for her."

He shook his head, "the nightmares had returned, Ric. I think my subconscious knew she was coming back and brought the nightmares back. I can still hear her screams, feel her pain and I allow myself to feel it because I deserve it for what I have done. She was such a good sister and I had failed at being her brother."

"You thought it was the right thing for her during that time."

He didn't respond.

"Right, Jeremy?"

He opened his mouth to respond, but quickly shut it when he knew he couldn't reveal the answer to him. Not to Ric because he didn't want hurt the one person in world that had been there for him since that day. The only person that helped him help Elena.

"What's wrong?"

"I...I don't know. Da..." he paused as he caught himself and sighed in frustration. "God, I can't even say his name! It's pathetic. After all these years, I still can't say his name. Why is that?"

"Maybe it's your guilt?" Ric suggested as he shrugged his shoulder.

"Maybe..."

"Jeremy, is Ric here yet?"

The two of them immediately froze in their spot as they stared at each other in fear that Elena had overheard them talking. They quietly watched her enter the kitchen and stop to stare at the both of them.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she looked between them.

"Nothing," Ric shook his head. "Jeremy was just asking me about some guy stuff."

"What guy stuff?" she curiously asked.

"Just guy stuff that um..." Ric paused and glanced over at Jeremy. "That involves Bonnie."

Elena nodded her head, "oh...that's...ew. I don't want to know. That's my best friend you guys are talking about there. Ew."

Jeremy's face instantaneously turned beet red as he realized what Ric just told his sister. He let out an uncomfortable cough and not so nicely jabbed Ric in the stomach. Elena slightly shuddered as she tried to shake out the image Ric just placed into her mind. That was her best friend and brother he was talking about it.

"Come on," she urged them to the door. "Let's go before I start hearing about the honeymoon plans."

Ric let out a laugh as he followed Elena out.

"Not funny!" Jeremy shouted after them as he also followed them out.

_..._

As soon as they arrived to the Grill and got seated, Ric unexpectedly got a text from Meredith. He quickly apologized to Elena and Jeremy and left the two of them to catch up on their own.

"I can't believe Ric just left," Jeremy grumbled as they walked out of the Grill after finishing their meal. "He is so fucking whipped and they're not even married."

"Stop it," Elena shushed him. "It's okay. He did say it was an emergency."

Jeremy scoffed, "emergency or not; this is a family reunion lunch. He certainly doesn't have his priorities straight."

"It's okay, Jer. I'm here for a while so we can do a family dinner next time. No big deal. Besides, don't you miss hanging out with just me? It'll be like old times."

He glanced over at her and grinned, playfully nudged her shoulder with his. She quickly smacked him on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his.

"So, how is the wedding planning coming along?" she curiously asked. "Bonnie becoming a bridezilla yet?"

Jeremy let out a laugh, "she's going slightly crazy. She's just overwhelmed with her job being more demanding now and planning that extravagant wedding of hers, but she decided to take a break and left with Rebekah to Atlantic City to check out wedding dresses over there."

"Extravagant wedding, huh? Do you want that?"

He shrugged, "no. Not really, but whatever makes her happy. Hey, as long as I get to make her my wife at the end of the day then it's all good."

Elena shook her head and smiled, "it's still kind of surreal to me; Bonnie and you. Before the um...accident, I never saw any signs of interest between the two of you. I remember you running around with Vicki, but I guess I understand. Vicki's gone and you two bonded."

Uncomfortable with the mention of Vicki, Jeremy shifted a little and nodded his head. They had told her that Vicki died from an overdose accident and it was so far from the truth. He didn't like talking about her or the past. It was another reminder of what he have done. Suddenly, as if his past had heard his thoughts, eyes grew wide as he noticed two familiar people walking out Mystic Falls Hospital. He immediately stopped.

"Jeremy?" Elena noticed his hesitation. "Are you okay?"

"Uh...yeah. Um, why don't you go check out the library first. I think I left my wallet back at the Grill. I going to run back and try to find it."

"Are you sure? I can go back with you."

"No," he shook his head. "It's fine. Go. I won't be long."

Elena nodded her head and entered Mystic Falls library without looking back. As soon as Elena disappeared from his sight, he rushed across the street and froze in place as he found himself standing in front of two people he thought he'll never see again in Mystic Falls.

"Hello, Jeremy. Did you miss us?"

He stood frozen in front of them in fear.

"Let's get reacquainted, shall we?"

The scream that he was going to released stopped dead at his throat as one of them sped up to him with elongated teeth and aimed for his throat.

* * *

**A/N:** Again, un-beta so all mistakes are mines. Anyways, now it's time for you to do your thing. You see that nifty little button below that say REVIEW, click it. It takes you this magical world where you can give me feeback. I should mention...feedback feeds my muse. Lol. Thank you for reading~!


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Thanks to all those who reviewed, followed, and favorite my story. Much appreciated! =P

* * *

**Chapter 3 - The Lonely**

_**"I'm a ghost of a girl that I want to be most.  
I'm the shell of a girl that I used to know well."**_

**-Christina Perri**

_"I want to go see it."_

_She wasn't going to let anyone stop her. She had woken up from her accident a week ago with the revelation that her loving aunt passed away three weeks before. Jenna Sommers, the aunt who had taken in Jeremy and her with open arms when finding out their parents had passed away. She had been hysterical when she found out because it was only a year ago that she lost her parents and to wake up finding out she had also lost her aunt had broken her heart. It felt like everyone was leaving her and she didn't like it._

_When she found out about Jenna's death, she was adamant to visit her at the cemetery, but Uncle John banned her from leaving her bed because according to him she wasn't strong enough. Three weeks had passed now and she was more than ready to face the fact that Jenna was gone._

_"Elena..." Jeremy tried to stop her._

_"No," she shook her head and stepped away from him. "I want to go see it for myself. I need to. Please, Jeremy. I am going with or without you."_

_"Alright, we'll go, but let's wait for Bonnie and Matt to come back."_

_"I am not waiting."_

_"At least wait until Ric comes back."_

_"Ric? Don't you mean Mr. Saltzman? Since when did he become part of this family?"_

_"Aunt Jenna loved him, Elena. You might not remember, but he was like a surrogate uncle to us."_

_"Don't you mean to you? I don't even know him except he's the history teacher at Mystic Falls High School."_

_Jeremy spotted Alaric coming to a stop outside of Elena's room once he heard what Elena had said. Alaric's face fell and he immediately noticed. He felt bad for him because Elena didn't know him anymore. She had kept her distance away from Alaric because he wasn't someone familiar and Jeremy could see the hurt in his eyes. He couldn't allow Elena to speak bad of him though. Alaric Saltzman was the only person left that they can rely on._

_"It doesn't matter, Elena. He cares about you just like he does me. Jenna trusted us with him. You have met him, 'Lena. Just give him a chance, please. He's a good person and he's all we have left."_

_Elena took a deep breath and shook her head again, "I don't talk about him anymore. I can't deal with all that at the moment. Right now I want to go to the cemetery and see it for myself. I want to go see the aunt that I lost and wasn't even there to say goodbye to. I at least deserve that!"_

_"I'll take you," Alaric walked into the room. "I'll take you there and if it makes you more comfortable, I'll stay back at the car and wait."_

_She glared and him and nodded her head, "fine. Let's go."_

_..._

_Here lies Jenna Sommers. A beloved aunt and friend. _

_As soon as Elena saw the headstone, she immediately broke into tears. It all became so real just then. Her aunt was gone and she didn't even get to say goodbye. It wasn't fair. Her aunt didn't belong here at the cemetery, buried. No, her aunt belonged with her. Them; Jeremy and her. It wasn't fair. None of it was._

_"Elena..." Jeremy carefully approached her. _

_"It's not fair," she mumbled out._

_"I'm so sorry," Jeremy apologized as he pulled her into a hug. _

_"This wasn't how it was suppose to be like. Why is this happening? We just lost our parents not too long ago and now losing Jenna...I don't understand it. We're good people, Jeremy. Why can't we just live a regular, normal and happy life like everyone else?" She looked up at him with her tear stained face, "it hurts, Jer."_

_Seeing her so broken brought tears into his eyes, "I know and I am so sorry you have to find out this way. I'm so sorry you have to keep losing people you love because of me."_

_Elena shook her head, "hey. I still have you. As long as I have you, I'll find a way to be fine."_

* * *

Jeremy kept his eyes closed as tightly as possible and tried to prepare himself for the pain that he was about to experience, but as he stood there and waited, all he heard was the girlish giggle. Slowly, he popped on his eyes open and raised his hand to touch his neck. It hadn't been pierced.

"Gotcha!" the blonde grinned.

He stared at the couple in front of him and blinked. He couldn't believe it. After two years he was finally coming face to face with two of the three vampires that left Mystic Falls after incident. He had hoped he would see them again someday in the future, but he didn't think it would be this soon. The last time he saw Stefan, he was carrying his brother's body out of the woods and away from Mystic Falls. He last saw Caroline when she had visited him before Elena woke up to say goodbye. She had decided to leave Mystic Falls also, to help Stefan with his brother. He was elated to see them again, but what he didn't understand was how they got into Mystic Falls. If he remembered correctly, Bonnie had told him she did some magic that banned them from entering Mystic Falls ever again.

"How...how are you guys here?" Jeremy stuttered.

Caroline rolled her eyes and brushed her blonde bangs from her face, "oh please. I have my ways."

Stefan shook his head at her, "what she means to say is that Bonnie's magic only banned my brother. Caroline and I are free to come and go if we want. We just haven't had time to come back until now."

"Oh don't lie to him, Stefan. The truth is, Jeremy, that we have been too busy doing damage control after the last stunt that happened here."

"Wait," Jeremy held his hands up. "Is...is he here?"

Stefan shrugged and Caroline shook her head, "why the hell would you care? You guys wanted him gone so he is. It shouldn't concern you if he's back or not."

"Caroline..." Stefan tried to stop her from going on a tantrum.

"Don't Caroline me, Stefan," she crossed her arms across her chest and glared at Jeremy. "Don't stand there and act like you care if he's back or not. You just want to know if he's back so you can go warn those monsters about his return. I'm not stupid, Jeremy. Whether he's back or not, you wouldn't be finding it out from me. Nope."

"I...I'm sorry, Caroline," Jeremy apologized. "I understand completely. You feel loyalty to him..."

"Of course!" she interrupted him. "But you wouldn't know what loyalty is if it bit you in the ass!"

"Okay, Caroline," Stefan stepped in. "Calm down."

She glared at Stefan and stomped her foot in defiance, "no, I will not calm down, Stefan. He needs to hear it. It's about time someone voice out how fuck up this whole situation is. They were in love, Jeremy, and you allowed them to cruelly break them up. How is dear Elena, by the way? Is she living the grand life that you guys wanted for her? I bet she's living in a glorious house with Matt with a white picket fence and a dog. She must so happy!"

"Shut up!" He had heard enough. He already felt guilty for it and Caroline wasn't helping him ease the pain that consumed him. No, Caroline didn't understand. Of course she didn't, she left. She never there to see the broken Elena. The Elena that hurt herself to feel at least something. He knew Caroline was just mocking him because she blamed him for what transpired years ago and he wasn't pissed at her for it because he blamed himself, too, but he couldn't allow her to talk about Elena in that way. Especially when she wasn't even close to how Elena was really living like.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Caroline!" He hissed, angrily. "You don't know anything. Just shut up!"

"Oh, really? Enlighten me then!"

He decided to deflect instead.

"You have no right to be angry, Caroline! You were the one that decided to leave. No one told you to go. You decided that yourself. Don't be angry with me because you chose to ditch your friend that was in need!"

Caroline scoffed, "you said that I don't know anything? Well, you don't know anything either, so don't go assuming things you don't know anything about!"

Jeremy shook his head and felt tears forming around his eyes. If he so much as to blink it would fall and he couldn't help but blink. A tear slowly fell as he let out a harsh breath.

"I'm sorry, Caroline," he quietly apologized.

She glared at him as she tried to steady her breath. She was definitely getting way too worked up. As she concentrated on calming down, she suddenly felt Stefan nudging her on her shoulder.

"What do you want, Stefan?!"

He crossed his arms across his chest and indiscreetly signaled her to apologize back to Jeremy. Not really feeling like apologizing, but wanting to please Stefan, Caroline let out a huff and glared at Jeremy.

"Fine!" she gritted through her teeth. "I'm sorry, too."

He gave her a small smile and let out a harsh breath. "Honestly, I wish I could tell you that she's living the life you think she is, but that would be a lie."

"What are you saying?" Stefan asked as he stared hard at him.

He shook his head, "I...I can't tell you. Not now."

"Excuse me?!" Caroline screeched. "If something is wrong with Elena, you better tell me right now or so help me Elena's brother or not, I'll rip your throat out."

"Just do me a favor, please," Jeremy pleaded. "Don't approach her. Not yet. There are some things that you must know before you do and I promise to tell you, just not now. Right now is not the time. If I'm ever going to talk about this, we're going to need privacy and something strong to drink."

"Okay then, how about the boarding house right now, then?" Stefan suggested.

Again, Jeremy shook his head, "I'm sorry, but today is not the time to get into it. She just got back to Mystic Falls. I have to go."

"Jeremy..."

He paused mid-step and gave them a broken smile, "I guess I'll be seeing you guys around...soon."

Caroline and Stefan solemnly nodded their head and smiled back. Letting out a deep breath, Jeremy turned around and walked back toward the library where he had left Elena. Mystic Falls was about to get interesting once more...

...

_Here lies Jenna Sommers. A beloved aunt and friend._

She glared at the words with hatred. Those stupid words that were carved into her headstone wasn't right. It wasn't enough. They didn't describe her. They didn't really tell people how much she meant to the people who loved her. No. Jenna wasn't just a loving aunt and friend. She was a wonderful, kind, fun, smart, caring and lovable aunt, friend, sister and parent. Jenna was like a second mother to her after her parents death and Elena felt horrible because Jenna never got a chance to become a mother to her own children. It wasn't fair. None of it was.

Her body shook and she quietly cried to herself as she stood in front of Jenna's grave. She thought she had gotten rid of the insufferable feeling, but it came back. All those pains she thought she overcame came coursing through her entire body and she realized it was all a lie. The past two years she was living was a lie. Lying to everyone that she had gotten better. Lying to herself that she was better, but in all honesty, she was never cured. No, she never fully confronted it so when it came back, it came in full force.

"Elena?" She heard a familiar voice call her name. She quickly turned around and herself face to face with Tyler Lockwood. "You're back."

She nodded her head.

"What's wrong?"

She let out a shaken breath and broke down. "I...I can't do this. What's wrong with me, Tyler? Why do I keep feeling this way? Why can't I make it stop? I just want to stop feeling like this! I can't...I can't..."

Seeing her breaking down in front of him, Tyler immediately rushed forward to her and wrapped her in a hug. "Deep breaths, remember?"

She shook her head and continued to cry.

"It's going to be fine. You're going to be fine."

Again, she shook her head and moved out of his embrace, "stop lying to me! I'm not fine! How can things be fine when I'm not? I feel like I'm going crazy here."

She was borderline hysterical. She was losing it and there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop it. She didn't know how. She wasn't strong enough. She had deluded herself for two years that she was fine; that she was back to normal, but it had all been a lie. She wasn't fine. She wasn't normal. She was lost.

"I've just been lying to myself," she stammered on. "I'm never going to be fine. I'm never going to be the same anymore. I lost her, Tyler..."

"Lost who?"

"The girl I use to be!" she shouted in frustration. "I don't even know who I am anymore!"

Tyler stared at her and let out a deep sigh. He knew one day this day would come. She had suppressed those dark feelings for so long now, he knew she would eventually break and that was exactly what was happening. He just hope she hadn't given up just yet.

"You're Elena Gilbert," he stated as he walked up to her and held onto her face. "You're an awesome sister to Jeremy Gilbert. Your mother and father are Miranda and Grayson Gilbert. You had a kick-ass aunt named Jenna Sommers. Those people, whether they're dead or alive, will help you remember who you are. Your love for them will help you stay sane. You're going to be fine, Elena Gilbert. It might not be today, but one day...I promise."

She stared back at him with her sad, brown, doe eyes, "what if that one day never comes?"

"Oh, I have a feeling it will," he smirked. "Soon."

Elena took a deep breath and let out small laugh. She nodded her head and wiped her tears from her face. This was how their friendship worked. Tyler Lockwood was like her own personal therapist. He was the only one she could really talk to. He was the only one after she found out about her memory loss that didn't treat her like she was invalid. He treated her like they have been friends since the sandbox when actuality they weren't even really fond of one another back then. Tyler had somehow slowly became one of her best friends since the lost of Caroline and finding out about her betrayal.

"Come on," he placed one arm around her shoulder. "I'm heading to a bar out of town. I'm kidnapping you to come along. I got someone I would like you to meet."

Immediately, Elena pushed his arms off and glared at him. "You are not setting me up with one of your friends again. Do I need to remind you of what happened last time?"

"Oh come on! It's nothing like that, I swear. It's just a friend I haven't seen in like...two years! I just want to go see how ugly he turned out now."

She quickly thought about it and finally agreed, "alright. Let's go meet this hideous beast friend of yours."

Tyler excitedly rushed Elena over to his car and couldn't help stop the grin that formed across his face. Damon Salvatore was going to owe him big time!


End file.
